Executive Officer of the Independent Power Generators, Ghana (IPGG) Dr Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor is raising concerns over what he terms a waste of the scarce natural Gas resources available to power generators in Ghana.

In his latest analysis of the 2024 gas supply and offtake report which highlights, gas flow rates and power generation loads, the top executive of the IPGG concluded that the thermal plants Operated by the Volta River Authority in Tema and Takoradi lack efficiency.

Excerpts of the offtake report indicate that the VRA’s Takoradi (Simple Cycle) thermal plant had a Gas Flow Rate pegged at 114 MMSCFD with a Load (Power Generated) of 508 MW with an efficiency being 4.46 MW per MMSCFD of gas whereas Karpowership operating within the same Takoradi enclave was rated with a Gas Flow of 43 MMSCFD, a Load (Power Generated) of  241MW and Efficiency at 5.60MW per MMSCFD of gas.

Given this and some other examples which he cites, Dr. Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor concludes in his Comparative Efficiency analysis of VRA Simple Cycle Plants and that of Independent Power producers

“VRA Takoradi and VRA Tema have efficiency ratios of 4.46 MW/MMSCFD and 3.92 MW/MMSCFD, respectively. This shows that these simple cycle plants are less efficient, generating fewer megawatts of electricity per unit of gas consumed.”

The Chief Executive noted in his latest analysis. He added Plants like Karpowership, SAPP, Cenit, and Cenpower are much more efficient. For instance, Cenit is producing 6.25 MW per MMSCFD, Cenpower is at 5.94 MW/MMSCFD, and Karpowership generates 5.60 MW/MMSCFD.

According to Dr. Apetorgbor, “The VRA simple cycle plants (Takoradi and Tema) are not maximizing the potential of the natural gas resource, as they generate lower power output per unit of gas compared to the more efficient IPPs”.

He also explained that IPP plants like CenPower SAPP, and Karpowership demonstrate better gas optimisation by producing more electricity per unit of gas consumed.

This, in his view, suggests that moving towards more combined-cycle or advanced gas turbine technologies used by IPPs could significantly improve the overall energy efficiency of the gas consumed in Ghana's power generation.

In a bid to redress the situation the Power Systems Economist, Efficiency gap demonstrates why a shift from simple cycle to combined cycle plants, especially for VRA operations, could be necessary for better gas resource management.